London Scottish (H) 27.10.12

27/10/2012

Jersey 20 London Scottish 17

Jersey withstood a spirited comeback from London Scottish to
claim their first Championship win of the season, delighting
Director of Rugby Ben Harvey.

"It wasn't the performance we wanted, but the result was the
most important thing," said a relieved Harvey. "The boys showed
real spirit, heart and tenacity and it's terrific for them to get a
win to reflect all their hard work.

"It was a patchy display, and we turned the ball over too much
on a dry day - if we'd kept hold of it better than we could have a
bonus point, but four points isn't a bad return."

Home captain Nathan Hannay beseeched his team to "look after it"
following a scrappy opening to the game, and the Islanders
responded when scrum-half Brendan O'Brien burst from a lineout, Ed
Dawson picked up quick second phase ball and fed Guy Thompson. The
flanker was around 30 metres out but burst through the Scottish
defence and had the pace to reach the line.

A scrum offence enabled Phil Godman to reduce the arrears with a
penalty. By half-time both sides had been reduced to 14 men after
Rob Anderson and Adam Kwasnicki received yellow cards, while Le
Bourgeois slotted two penalties to increase his side's
advantage.

Crucially the home side claimed the first score of the second
period. Fine handling from Sean McCarthy, Nathan Hannay and
Anderson gave a chance to Copsey. The winger checked inside and
then scorched away from the Scottish defence for a superb try.

A trip to the sin-bin for Hannay helped Scottish change the
momentum of the game. Previously the Jersey scrum had held their
own, but now they were bossed by the visiting eight and conceded a
penalty try.

The lead shrank to just three points as the visitors seized
turnover ball and Miles Mantella burst clear from inside his own
half, releasing Jim Thompson with a perfectly-timed scoring pass.
The Scots sensed victory, but Jersey's defence held firm in the
closing stages as the home fans suffered prior to the elation of
the final whistle.

Visiting Director of Rugby Simon Amor was rueful: "If you miss
as many tackles and give away as many penalties as we did then it's
always going to be hard. Jersey deserved the win and we've got
plenty of technical things to work on."